English adjective: critical | |||
1. | critical marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws | ||
Samples | A critical attitude. | ||
Similar | captious, censorious, deprecative, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcritical, scathing, searing, vituperative | ||
See also | sarcastic, unfavorable, unfavourable | ||
Antonyms | uncritical | ||
2. | critical at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction | ||
Samples | A critical temperature of water is 100 degrees C--its boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure. Critical mass. Go critical. | ||
Similar | supercritical | ||
Attribute | criticality | ||
Domain category | chemical science, chemistry, natural philosophy, physics | ||
Antonyms | noncritical | ||
3. | critical characterized by careful evaluation and judgment | ||
Samples | A critical reading. A critical dissertation. A critical analysis of Melville's writings. | ||
Similar | appraising, discriminative, evaluative, judicial | ||
See also | discerning, scholarly | ||
Antonyms | uncritical, noncritical | ||
4. | critical urgently needed; absolutely necessary | ||
Samples | A critical element of the plan. Critical medical supplies. Vital for a healthy society. Of vital interest. | ||
Synonyms | vital | ||
Similar | indispensable | ||
Antonyms | dispensable | ||
5. | critical forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis | ||
Samples | A critical point in the campaign. The critical test. | ||
Synonyms | decisive | ||
Similar | crucial, important | ||
Antonyms | noncrucial | ||
6. | critical being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency | ||
Samples | A critical shortage of food. A critical illness. An illness at the critical stage. | ||
Similar | acute, dangerous, desperate, dire, grave, grievous, life-threatening, serious, severe | ||
See also | crucial, important | ||
Attribute | crisis | ||
Antonyms | noncritical, noncrucial | ||
7. | critical of or involving or characteristic of critics or criticism | ||
Samples | Critical acclaim. | ||